New Mexico Firefighters Contain Large Warehouse Blaze

witnesses could see flames and thick smoke pouring from the roof of one building off Edith Boulevard in Albuquerque.

Oct. 16, 2007

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --

A warehouse fire burned well into the early morning Tuesday in Northeast Albuquerque.

At the height of the fire, witnesses could see flames and thick smoke pouring from the roof of one building off Edith Boulevard.

The fire started inside Cottonwood Storage, a cardboard box storage business that supplies boxes to vendors all over Albuquerque. All the cardboard inside provided incredible fuel for the flames. The fire was so intense that the building's roof collapsed.

Firefighters worried that the flames might spread to two other adjoining warehouses with even more potentially hazardous materials inside.

The Big Bear Oil Company houses drums of petroleum that could create giant explosions if ignited. The La-Z-Boy warehouse is filled with upholstered furniture containing foams made up of chemicals that become very hazardous if they start to melt.

But, firefighters managed to contain the fire to Cottonwood Storage and avoided even more problems.